Samsung WB250F pictures and hands-on

The Samsung WB250F is one of a handful of Wi-Fi-enabled compact cameras to be announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Pocket-lint went along to Samsung's show stand see what all the connected camera fuss was about.

The WB250F is, according to Samsung, the top spec model in the WB-series. Potential buyers may wonder why that's the case as it doesn't have as considerable a zoom lens or even as high a resolution sensor as its WB800F cousin which was also announced at the show. We suspect it's all down to the latest 14.2-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor in the WB250F model, although we're yet to see how that will perform against the WB800F's 16-megapixel sensor.

The WB250F comes loaded with an 18x optical zoom lens that can deliver a zoom range the equivalent of 24-430mm. It ought to be ideal for wide-angle or far-reaching shots all from the one body, and a small body it is too considering the zoom range on offer.

Controlling the camera is easy, and we were particularly fond of the touchscreen function which made the likes of focusing on specific subject areas all the easier.

Wi-Fi also makes best use of the touchscreen facility, which makes light work of selecting networks and tapping in passwords. The WB250F can sync with Wi-Fi networks or pair directly with a smartphone to share shots from the camera pretty much wherever you happen to be. Just as with Samsung's other implementations, we feel that this is the company that's made the most legwork in the connected camera sector. There're fewer hoops to jump through to get everything to work compared to the competition.

Looks as though Samsung's got the connected compacts range wrapped up fairly tight. Here's hoping the WB250F's image quality can match up to expectation.

Gaming geek, semi-failed cyclist, big screen and movie lover and fan of both big beats and beer. As the former Reviews Editor at What Digital Camera, self-confessed camera geek Mike has seen pretty much every digital camera that's been made. His work has featured in a variety of well-respected titles, including Wired, TechRadar, Professional Photographer and many more.